Chapter 7

Section 1

Meiosis

Objective

Summarize the events that occur during meiosis.

Relate crossing-over, independent assortment, and random fertilization to genetic variation.

Compare the formation of gametes in male and female animals.

Key terms

Meiosis-is a form of cell division that halves the number of chromosomes when forming specialized
reproductive cells.

Crossing-over- the exchange of reciprocal segments of DNA b homologous chromosomes at the

beginning of meiosis: source of genetic recombination

Independent assortment- random distribution of homologous chromosomes during meiosis

Spermatogenesis- process by which gametes are produced in male animals.

Sperm- male gamete

Oogenesis- process b which gametes are produced in female animals.

Ovum- a mature egg cell

Meiosis forms haploid cells.

Some organisms reproduce by joining gametes to form the first cell of a new individual. The gametes are
haploid – they contain one set of chromosomes. Imagine how the chromosome number would increase
with each generation if gametes were not haploid! Meiosis is a form of cell division that halves the
number of chromosomes when forming specialized reproductive cells, such as gametes or spores.
Meiosis involves two divisions of the nucleus- meiosis I and meiosis II- and each division is subdivided
into prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase stages. Before meiosis begins, the DNA in the
original cell is replicated. Thus, meiosis starts with homologous chromosomes. Recall that homologous
chromosomes are similar in size, shape, and genetic content.

Step 1 Prophase I- the chromosomes condense, and the nuclear envelope breaks down. Homologous
chromosomes pair all along their length and then cross-over. crossing- over occurs when portions of a
chromatid on one homologous chromosome are broken and exchanged with the corresponding portions
on one of the chromatids of the other homologous chromosomes.

Step 2 metaphase I- the pairs of homologous chromosomes are moved by the spindle to the equator of
the cell. The homologous chromosomes, each made up of two chromatids, remain together.

Step 3 anaphase I- the homologous chromosomes separate. As in mitosis, the chromosomes of each pair
are pulled to opposite poles of the cell by the spindle fibers. But the chromatids do not separate at their
centromeres- each chromosome is still composed to two chromatids. The genetic material, however,
has recombined.

Step 4 telophase I- individual chromosomes gather at each of the poles. In most organisms, the
cytoplasm divides(cytokinesis), forming two new cells. Both cells and poles contain one chromosome
from each pair of homologous chromosomes. The chromosomes do not replicate between meiosis I and
meiosis II.

Step 5 prophase II- a new spindle forms around the chromosomes

Step 6 metaphase II- the chromosomes line up along the equator and are attached at their centromeres
to spindle fibers.

Step 7 anaphase II- the centromeres divide, and the chromatids (now called chromosomes) move to
opposite poles of the cell.

Step 8 telophase II- a nuclear envelope forms around each set of chromosomes. The spindle breaks
down, and the cell undergoes cytokinesis. The result of meiosis is four haploid cells.

Meiosis contributes to genetic variation.

Meiosis is an important process that allows for the rapid generation of new genetic combinations. Three
mechanisms make key contributions to this genetic variation: independent assortment, crossing-over
and random fertilization.

Chromosome pairs separate independently.

Most organisms have more than one chromosome. In human beings, for example, each gamete receives
one chromosome from each of 23 pairs of homologous chromosomes. But the chromosome that an
offspring receives from each of the 23 pairs is a matter of chance. This random distribution of
homologous chromosomes during meiosis is called independent assortment. Each of the 23 pairs of
chromosomes segregates (separates) independently. Thus, 2^23 (about 8 million) gametes with
different gene combinations can be produced from one original cell by this mechanism.

Crossing-over and random fertilization

The DNA exchange that occurs during crossing-over adds even more recombination to the independent
assortment of chromosomes that occurs later in meiosis. Thus, the number of genetic combinations that
can occur among gametes is practically unlimited. Furthermore, because the zygote that forms a new
individual created by the random joining of two gametes (each gamete produced independently),
fertilization squares the number of possible outcomes (2^23X2^23=64 trillion).

Importance of generating variation.

Meiosis and the joining of gametes are essential to evolution. No genetic process generates variation
more quickly. In many cases, the pace of evolution appears to increase as the level of genetic variation
increases. For example, when genetic variation is used in agricultural breeding programs to increase the
size of domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep, many large animals are produced at first. But as
the existing genetic combinations become used up, the ability to obtain larger and larger animals slows
down. Further progress must then wait for the formation of new gene combinations. Racehorse
breeding provides another example. Thoroughbred racehorses are all descendants of a small number of
individuals, and selection for speed has accomplished all it can with this limited amount of genetic
variation. The winning times in major races stopped improving decades ago. Strangely enough, the
evolutionary process is both revolutionary and conservative. It is revolutionary in that the pace of
evolutionary change is quickened by genetic recombination. It is conservative in that evolutionary
change is not always favored by natural selection, which may instead favor existing combinations of
genes.

Gamete formation in male and female animals involves meiosis.

The fundamental events of meiosis occur in all sexually reproducing organisms. However, organisms
vary in timing and structures associated with gamete formation. Meiosis is the primary event in the
formation of gametes- gametogenesis.

Meiosis in males
The process by which sperm are produced in male animals is called spermatogenesis. Spermatogenesis
occurs in the testes (male reproductive organs). A diploid cell first increases in size and becomes a large
immature cell (germ cell). The large cell then undergoes meiosis I. two cells are produced, each of which
undergoes meiosis II to form a total of four haploid cells. The four cells change in form and develop a tail
to become male gametes called sperm.

Meiosis in females
The process by which gametes are produced in female animals is called oogenesis. Oogenesis occurs in
the ovaries (female reproductive organs). Notice that during cytokinesis following meiosis I, the
cytoplasm divides unequally. One of the resulting cells gets nearly all of the cytoplasm. It is this cell that
will ultimately give rise to an egg cell. The other cell is very small and is called a polar body. The polar
body may divide again, but its cells will not survive. The larger cell undergoes meiosis II, and the division
of the egg into a gamete called an ovum or, more commonly, egg. The smaller cell, the second polar
body, dies. Because of its larger share of cytoplasm, the mature ovum has a rich storehouse of nutrients.
These nutrients nourish the young organism that develops if the ovum is fertilized.
Chapter 7

Section 2

Objectives

Differentiate between asexual and sexual reproduction

Identify three types of asexual reproduction

Evaluate the relative genetic and evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual
reproduction

Differentiate between the three major sexual life cycles found in eukaryotes

Similarity to parents is determined by the type of reproduction

Some organisms look exactly like their parents and siblings. Others share traits with family members but
are not identical to them. some organisms have two parents, while others have one. The type of
reproduction that produces an organism determines how similar the organism is to its parents and
siblings. Reproduction, the process of producing offspring, can be asexual or sexual. In asexual
reproduction a single parent passes copies of all of its genes to each of its offspring; there is no fusion of
haploid cells such as gametes. An individual produced by asexual reproduction is a clone, an organism
that is genetically identical to its parent. As discussed in chapter 6, prokaryotes reproduce by a type of
asexual reproduction called binary fission. Many eukaryotes also reproduce asexually. In contrast, in
sexual reproduction two parents each form haploid reproductive cells, which join to form offspring.
Since both parents contribute genetic material, the offspring have traits of both parents but are not
exactly like either parent. Sexual reproduction, with the formation of haploid cells occurs in the
eukaryotic organisms.

Types of asexual reproduction

There are many different types of asexual reproduction. For example, amoebas reproduce by fission, the
separation of a parent into two or more individuals of about equal size. Some multicellular eukaryotes
undergo fragmentation, a type of reproduction in which the body breaks into several pieces. Some or all;
these fragments later develop into complete adults when missing parts are regrown. Other organisms.
Like the hydra undergo budding in which new individuals split off from existing ones. The bud may break
from the parent and become an independent organism, or it may remain attached to the parent. An
attached bud can eventually give rise to a group of many individuals.

Advantages and disadvantages of each type of reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the simplest and most primitive method of reproduction. In a stable
environment, asexual reproduction allows organisms to produce many offspring in a short period of
time, without using energy to produce gametes or to find a mate. However, the DNA of these organisms
does not vary much between induvial. This may be disadvantage in a changing environment because
they may not be able to adapt to a new environment. On the other hand, sexual reproduction provides a
powerful means of quickly making different combinations of genes among individuals. Such genetic
diversity is the raw material for evolution.
How sexual reproduction evolved

Biologists have studied protists to determine how sexual reproduction evolved. Many protists are
haploid most of the time and so reproduce asexually. They form a diploid cell only in response to stress
in the environment. Biologists think this occurs because only diploid cells can repair certain kinds of
chromosomes damage such as breaks in both strands of DNA. As organisms became larger. It was
important for them to be able to repair such damage. The pairing of homologous chromosomes during
meiosis may have originally been a way to repair damaged DNA. Indeed, many enzymes that repair DNA
damage are also involved during the time when chromosomes exchange genetic materials during
meiosis.

Eukaryotes have three kind a of sexual life cycles

The entire span in the life of an organism from one generation to the next is called a life cycle. The life
cycles of all sexually reproducing organisms follows a basic pattern of alternation between the diploid
and haploid chromosome numbers. The type of sexual life cycle that a eukaryotic organism has depends
on the type of cell that undergoes meiosis and on when meiosis occurs. Eukaryotes that undergo sexual
reproduction can have one of three types of sexual life cycles haploid, diploid, or alternation of
generations.

Haploid life cycle

The haploid life cycle is the simplest of sexual life cycles. In this life cycle haploid cells occupy the major
portion of the life cycle. The zygote is the only diploid cell, and it undergoes meiosis immediately after it
is formed, creating new haploid cells. The haploid cells give rise to haploid multicellular individuals that
produce gametes by mitosis. In a process called fusion, the gametes fuse to produce a diploid zygote,
and the cycle continues. When the diploid zygote undergoes meiosis, it provides an opportunity for the
cell to correct nay genetic damage as discussed earlier. The damage is repaired during meiosis, when the
two homologous chromosomes are lined upside-by-side in the preparation for crossing-over. special
repair enzymes remove any damaged sections of double stranded DNA and fill in any gaps. This type of
life cycle is found in many protists as well as in some fungi and algae such as the unicellular
Chlamydomonas.